The Hamodia daily newspaper, affiliatd with the Gur hasidic movement, on Monday published an article indicating that the United Torah Judaism party feels no obligation to back any candidate for prime minister, and will support only a candidate who offers a practical and guaranteed solution to resolve the status of yeshiva students.
Alongside outlining the conditions for joining a government, the article sharply criticizes figures on the right who are seeking to prevent the haredi parties from exploring political cooperation outside their traditional bloc.
Hamodia explained that the decision to refrain from recommending Netanyahu or any other candidate reflects the party’s priorities in light of the difficulties facing yeshiva students and goes beyond tactical considerations.
"To carry out this directive, United Torah Judaism did not recommend any of the candidates to the President to form a government," the article said. "The faction made it as clear as possible that it has no choice: We will support only a candidate who resolves the status of Torah learners."
"This time, a written and signed commitment alone will not suffice, because it has proven invalid. This time, proper guarantees are essential. As far as it depends on the haredi representatives, they will not help form a government unless this issue is resolved."
The article added, "Rebukes like ‘How dare you even consider anyone outside the faith-based bloc?’ will not change the situation. Nor will remarks like, ‘Don’t reward the Attorney General and all those who persecuted you’ change reality. They won’t get a single yeshiva student out of prison. They won’t help any yeshiva student figure out how to move forward."
"They won’t get a single young child into daycare. They won’t allow a haredi groom to travel abroad for his wedding. They won’t remedy the discrimination or reduce the insults and harassment," the article said.
Stressing that United Torah Judaism will back whoever can address these issues in practice, the article concluded, "That is precisely the solution the haredi community is waiting for. It is the only thing that can offer some relief for the 'there is no other choice.' Whoever delivers it will have United Torah Judaism’s support."